Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Philologica, 13, 2 (2021) 71–92 DOI: 10.2478/ausp-2021-0014
Developing Adult Learners’ Language Competence in Culture-Based Blended-Learning Course Ineta LUKA
Turiba University (Riga, Latvia) Department of Languages ineta@turiba.lv Abstract. During the last two decades, due to technological possibilities and the spread of the Internet, new forms of learning have originated as an alternative to traditional face-to-face learning – e-learning, online learning, hybrid learning, blended learning, ubiquitous learning, etc. They have become even more popular due to the COVID-19 pandemic as the only solution to implement learning at universities and adult education institutions. This paper will focus on a blended-learning language course designed for adult learners. The aim of the current research is to evaluate the course created and the development of adult learners’ English language competence during the course implementation in six EU countries – Croatia, Latvia, Slovenia, Romania, Poland, and the Czech Republic. 227 adult learners and ten Englishlanguage teachers were involved in the course piloting. Research methods applied: learners’ survey after the course completion, unstructured observation of learners done by teachers during the course, and structured interviews with the teachers after the course implementation. In this paper, the observation results and the findings from teachers’ interviews will be analysed. The findings highlight both positive aspects and challenges of the course created. Learners have gained cultural knowledge, increased their vocabulary, and developed reading skills, while at the same time improvements in developing learners’ listening and writing skills are also required.1 Keywords: blended learning, language competence, interaction
Introduction Nowadays, “in a digitalized society blended learning has become a favorable approach in adult education” (Cocquyt et al. 2019: 1), gaining momentum 1
The research was conducted in the framework of the Erasmus+ project Cultural Knowledge and Language Competences as Means to Develop 21st-Century Skills (Project No. 2018-1-HR-01KA204-047430; 2018–2021).
